It's My Voice and I'll Use It How & When I Want Too!

There's been a lot of conversation happening in these Facebook streets lately. Women are using their voices in a powerful way. Now everyone I don't always agree with their words, but I'm ALWAYS here for women of all races, ages, religions and backgrounds exercising their rights to speak.

Not only to speak, but to speak boldly, powerfully and unapologetically in her truth. As long as she's also big, bold, and bad enough to accept any consequences and response to her words. However with all that I have been witnessing I must speak up about a few of my observations that are quite frankly on my nerves.

In society's current state of affairs there are a lot of conversations around race relations taking place. Especially those convos around social justice, healing and activism. These are tough convos that are hard to have. And I am witnessing two issues that disturb me; and they are two sides of the same destructive coin.

And they are:

**** Telling me WHEN to use my voice.

**** Telling me HOW to use my voice.

So let's talk about it. On one end I see women, mostly white women in the healing, spiritual and coaching arena telling women of color that now isn't the time to talk about race relations and white supremacy. They keep saying now is the time for "love and light", for "prayer and meditation", etc along those lives. They say to those speaking out about injustice that now isn't the time because conversation doesn't change anything; they are just getting people riled up.

My question when I read these types of posts is, "Who are you to tell me WHEN I can use my voice". These aren't the days of yester year when you as a white woman could demand my silence and receive it at your every whim. The fact that you still think you can, speaks to your white privilege fueling our white supremacist ideology......... the VERY thing that women of color are speaking out against.

YOU ARE IN YOUR REQUEST CALLING UPON OPPRESSION TO TRAP THE VOICES OF WOMEN OF COLOR INTO A BOX OF YOUR LIKING.

The flip side of that coin is all the posts that I read telling me HOW to use my voice. And unfortunately the majority of those posts that I see are from women of color. Now I maybe setting myself up for a modern day Crucifixion with my following words. But I am here to cause transformation through my words by causing thought and reflection.

There's a lot of WOC telling other WOC HOW to use their voice.

"You're not speaking up loud enough."

"You're being too loud, they won't take you seriously."

"How can you speak out against one thing and not another?"

"You're being too harsh, where's your femininity."

It's So Damn Exhausting!

Look my sister I have worked hard to reclaim, understand, and share my voice with the world. Don't beat me down because I don't use mine like you. I mean if my voice was just like yours it would be our voice, and not mine.

There's so many different ways in which our sisters can show up. When you attack other WOC about how they use their voices you do more damage than good. It doesn't help often times it causes women to retreat back into the shell they just emerged from. We already have enough to overcome to use our voices boldly we don't need to feel anything but support from our sisters. And support doesn't mean you have to condone or even agree with what our sister says however celebrate them.

Celebrate the fact that she spoke up in the midst of a culture who’s never shown value in her voice and denying the fact that she is the Empress of the Earth. When you tell her HOW to speak.

YOU ARE IN YOUR REQUEST CALLING UPON OPPRESSION TO TRAP THE VOICES OF WOMEN OF COLOR INTO A BOX OF YOUR LIKING.

2 SIDES OF THE SAME COIN. 2 SIDES OF THE SAME COIN.

As for me and MY voice I've fought long and hard to know that I can use it WHENever I want to and HOWever I want to!! Agree or agree to disagree and I can respect that. But try to place my voice in a box and be ready for me to come BUSTING out and on fire! I won't be silenced and I won't stay and watch a WOC be silenced regardless of her view!